Experimental evaluation of birds as disseminators of the cosmopolitan tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae)

► Chicks are not suitable hosts for Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks. ► Chicks would be unable to maintain R. sanguineus tick populations. ► R. sanguineus ticks may be delivered by chicks to new settings. ► Birds may fortuitously introduce R. sanguineus ticks into non-infested dog settings.